Page:Bostock v. Clayton County (2020).pdf/91

54 July 25, 2018) (change of gender on driver’s licenses); Whitaker, 858 F. 3d, at 1054 (school policy requiring students to use the bathroom that corresponds to the sex on birth certificate); Keohane v. Florida Dept. of Corrections Secretary, 952 F. 3d 1257, 1262–1265 (CA11 2020) (transgender prisoner denied hormone therapy and ability to dress and groom as a female); Edmo v. Corizon, Inc., 935 F. 3d 757, 767 (CA9 2019) (transgender prisoner requested sex reassignment surgery); cf. Glenn v. Brumby, 663 F. 3d 1312, 1320 (CA11 2011) (transgender individual fired for gender non-conformity).

Although the Court does not want to think about the consequences of its decision, we will not be able to avoid those issues for long. The entire Federal Judiciary will be mired for years in disputes about the reach of the Court’s reasoning.

The updating desire to which the Court succumbs no doubt arises from humane and generous impulses. Today, many Americans know individuals who are gay, lesbian, or transgender and want them to be treated with the dignity, consideration, and fairness that everyone deserves. But the authority of this Court is limited to saying what the law is.

The Court itself recognizes this: "“The place to make new legislation ... lies in Congress. When it comes to statutory interpretation, our role is limited to applying the law’s demands as faithfully as we can in the cases that come before us.” Ante, at 31."

It is easy to utter such words. If only the Court would live by them.

I respectfully dissent.